Chapter 7 – Obedient

They knew it would happen eventually, but when the decepticons attacked Iacon it was on a scale of ferocity and brutality that surprised even the most seasoned veterans. Barricade after barricade was breeched until the army had to retreat almost to the center of the city, giving up valued ground. Bots fled, citizens were in a panic. The war had been a distant thing to them. A distant worry that they didn't see or hear but knew about. Something that only news reached them from public holo vids or announcements. They sent mechs and femmes off to war...then welcomed them home as heroes with no thought as to what they actually did while they were away. It had been like a story...now it was a nightmare.

Ironhide had lived that nightmare many many times. He had been in battles and while it had affected him, he just plowed right on, never letting it get to him or letting it break him. Instead he embraced it. Even now, watching his home be destroyed, with heavy artillery exploding around him and gun fire almost drowning out the panicked screams of citizens and the war cries of warriors, he felt that pull to fight. He almost HAD to engage, to fight alongside his brothers and fellow soldiers, to save those who were running in terror. But the scared youngling in his arms kept him hidden in the shadows.

"Easy Orion." he murmured, rubbing an audio, "I won't let anything happen to ya."

The red and blue youngling whimpered, clinging tighter to his guardian's chest. His world had literally been turned upside down and inside out. When the building he called home had come under fire, his caretakers had run screaming in panic. He had run and hid in his room, the only place he could think of. He tried to be brave like Ironhide had told him to be countless times but the smoke, explosions and screaming had proven to be too much.

Ironhide had come in then. He had seen the caretakers bolt without a small form with them. He had broken ranks, something he had NEVER done before, but that was HIS charge to guard. He had been charged by Sentinel Prime himself to guard the youngling with his life. He would never abandon him, especially at a time like this. He had honed in on the sounds of a crying youngling, scooped him up and run back to the line. It was safer there, with the other soldiers, than it was alone.

"Ironhide!" Sentinel Prime shouted upon seeing his bodyguard holding the youngling, "Take Orion to the rendezvous point and stay with him."

Ironhide hesitated. Orion was his charge yes...but his programming dictated he protect his Prime. Such was the conflict of being the sole guardian of the prime and his son.

Sentinel came over, "You've done your job well, Ironhide, and I couldn't ask for better. But we're in war now and must think of protecting the future. I need you elsewhere and that is not with me. I need you to protect Orion. I release you from my service...and transfer your oath and loyalty to him. We need you to protect him...he will be Prime after me and I don't know of a better mech to ensure he makes it that far. He needs the best with him...so I'm giving him the best bodyguard I can offer."

Ironhide nodded and at once his programming had him running through the rubble, holding Orion close, dodging and hiding in shadows as best he could while going as fast as he could. They were doing well until he heard marching peds. He couldn't tell if they were Autobot or Decepticon but he wasn't taking any chances and ducked down.

Just in time a platoon of Decepticons marched by. Ironhide took the time to watch them and realized, with a small amount of horror, that they had some serious heavy weaponry. No wonder everyone was losing. They must have gotten an engineer-a good one at that. Pit knows Trypticon had enough scrap for crude materials...Kaon had the energon refineries...pit they had an assembly for weapons! Slag this was bad, very bad.

Orion watched the procession with wide optics. He had been as brave as he could be in Ironhide's arms but seeing those scary mechs with the big guns and red optics...it was too much. He shrieked.

"Orion no! Hush!" Ironhide stuffed the sparkling into the crook of his elbow joint but the damage had been done. The entire platoon stopped and turned to look, as intent as hellhounds.

"Aw fraggit...Orion, get in." Ironhide said, sliding open his chest plates. Orion had gotten rather tall but he could still fit in the carry hold, even if it was a bit cramped. It wasn't comfortable and he would get rather jostled but he was protected by a thick layer of armor and that was the important thing...that and he freed up Ironhide's shooting arm.

Ironhide pulled out his weapon and waited. If they left now, it would avoid a rather terrific fight and make things so much easier for him...but they seemed intent on finding the source. This made Ironhide more than a little concerned. For one, it meant they were hunting every civilian they could find and two...well, they were not in a good position. Normally he would have thrown himself into the middle and trashed them. Usually he would have gotten rather beat up as well and sent medics, mostly just Ratchet, into an absolute fit. However, he had a small sparkling with him. He could feel him shiver in his hold. He couldn't do that. As much as it rankled him, he had to run.

Breaking cover, he bolted for the side alley, hoping his dark paint job would allow him to disappear into the destruction. Unfortunately, these mechs were far more alert than your average dumb 'con. "THERE!" Shots followed his retreat. He felt a few hit him but not slow him down. Orion was more important. He HAD to get him out of there.

Finally the shots and noise faded. He had lost them with his random turns down alleys. Air intakes heaved, struggling to cool over-heated systems. It was only then that he realized that his leg wasn't responding the way it should. The gears and struts felt stiff and tacky and the hydraulics hissed in protest. He looked down...and pain struck him like a physical blow, nearly staggering him as the shock of seeing his hip completely missing, his leg barely attached him at all, his side completely covered in energon. No wonder they hadn't followed...they thought he was a dead mech running. A squeal caught his attention, pulling him back from his white haze. Orion.

"Stay in there little one...I'll take us somewhere safe." He choked out, "Just stay quiet. We'll be ok."

Ratchet. He had to find Ratchet. He had to get to the medic. Wherever Ratchet was was most likely safe and he could get his hip fixed without having to worry about Orion getting hurt. Slowly he began to limp across the city. He had a long way to go still.

XxXxXx

Ratchet was very busy. A lot of injured mechs had come in and his hospital had suddenly become the center hub of activity...and apparently the new headquarters of the Autobots, much to his great annoyance. He was way too busy at first to complain (much) but once the flow of injured slowed to a trickle that he could safely leave to the others he sought out Sentinel to let him know just WHAT he thought of this.

He found the massive mech pacing and snarling, his temper worse than the medic's currently, making Ratchet pause in the doorway, his own temper momentarily taken aback.

"He's not back yet!" Sentinel roared.

"There are a lot of mechs missing. Which one?" Ratchet asked calmly, not surprised at all to see that all the other mechs had edged away from their leader's anger, leaving the fiery CMO to deal with Sentinel alone.

"Ironhide!" Again this didn't fully surprise the medic. Big lug was probably having a blast somewhere in the city, destroying whatever con was dumb enough to get in his way...and getting hurt along the way too, the slagger. "He has Orion."

"What?!" NOW Ratchet was worried. Ironhide would give his life for the youngling but...why the warrior? Why not evacuate the baby with his caretakers? Why wasn't Ironhide playing bodyguard to Sentinel like he had sworn to?

"I transferred Ironhide's duties to Orion." Sentinel went on, as if he could hear Ratchet's jumbled thoughts, "He is Orion's primary guardian now. We were pinned down so I sent him off...he was supposed to meet us here!"

"IDIOT!" Ratchet exploded, his temper snapping, totally blowing away the Prime's like a solar storm engulfing a passing comet, "For one, you sent a fragging soldier and a youngling through a pit-damned WAR ZONE ALONE! Ironhide might be a good soldier BUT HE CAN'T FIGHT AND GUARD A SPARKLING AT THE SAME PRIMUS DAMNED TIME! He would have been safer with you! For another WHY didn't you send Orion with his slagging caretakers BEFORE the damn fireworks happened?! You KNEW this might happen and yet YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

Before Sentinel's temper could rise back up and snap back, the emergency bell went off. Ratchet spun around and took off without even a parting retort, causing Sentinel to follow, partly in worry over the sudden change in attitude and partly because he wasn't done with this conversation. When he got to the hall, he stopped short. Ironhide stood just long enough to pass a totally unharmed Orion to Ratchet before collapsing onto the floor in a pool of energon, his leg nearly detached from his body.

XxXxXx

"C'mon…wake up."

Obediently Ironhide onlined his optics, only to instantly regret that as light hit him like a missile. Or Ratchet's paint color. Hard to tell which sometimes.

"There you go. Primus 'Hide, every slagging battle you end up here." Ratchet did NOT sound happy.

"Orion?"

"Just fine thanks to you." Ratchet shook his head. He could spend the next orn lecturing Ironhide about being careful and not getting hurt so often but really…the warrior would never listen.

Ironhide, for his part, gave Ratchet his most charming smile, "Totally worth it then."

Ever the obedient soldier.

XxXxXx

A/N: Happy 4th of July everyone! Despite mine sucking monkey butt, I give you a chap. to make yours nice. Bit of a serious one this time. My apologies if I don't keep "historically" accurate. I take my own artistic liberties with these things. Ah, the wonderful beauty of fanfic…